Storage tank with partitioned floating closure



N 25, 1952 F. DE HOFFMANN STORAGE TANK WITH PARTITIONED FLOATING CLOSUREFiled May 12, 1949 INVENTOR Felix d8 Ho ma'm ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 25,1952 OFFICE STORAGE TANK WITH PARTITIONED FLOATING CLOSURE Felix deHoffmann, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Application May 12, 1949, Serial No. 92,799 In Argentina June 5, 1948 1Claim.

The present invention refers to a storage tank for inflammable liquids,preferably petroleum and its derivatives, its essential object being toprovide a storage tank which, owing to its excellent constructionalfeatures offers evident advantages over all other tanks or similarinstallations used or proposed to date for the same or similar purposes.

The disadvantages of the present usually employed tanks, of the open orclosed kind used for storing petrol, its derivatives and otherinflammable liquids, are well known, as well as their lack of safety incase of fire or spontaneous combustion of the contents.

In fact, the great dimculties encountered when trying to extinguish firein such storage tanks are thoroughly familiar to all concerned. Suchdifficulties exist in spite of chemical methods and extinguishers usedto put out the fire, and they are due, in the first place, to the greatvolume of liquid stored in each tank and the considerable surface ofsame, obliging the firemen to attack the confiagration simultaneouslyover a large zone-which is practically impossible. The consequence ofthis is that, in case of fire, the entire contents of the tank arepractically destroyed, apart from the fact that the great heat generatedby the inflamed mass, and the possibility of same exploding, can causespontaneous combustion of fluids stored in adjacent tanks.

In order to avoid these drawbacks the improvement according to thepresent invention has been provided, consisting in dividing the freesurface of the liquid in independent zones into smaller surfaces, sothat in case of fire of the stored product, each one of said zones canbe attacked independently, thus making it easier to put out the fire.

On the other hand, by independently arranging these separate zones, thefire can be isolated Within one of same, it being possible, in certaincases, to prevent its spreading to adjacent zones, which alsofacilitates fire-extinguishing operations.

The invention likewise envisages other accessory objects that will bemade clear during the course of the present description.

In order that the present invention may be more clearly understood andreadily put into practice, same will now be described with reference toattached drawing, illustrating one of its preferred embodiments.

In the drawings, the figure illustrates an embodiment of my invention.

Like numerals represent like or similar parts throughout the severalfigures of the drawings.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, I is an ordinary storage tank,the top part of which may be open or closed, as desired.

In accordance with the present invention, said tank I houses a structureconsisting of a series of partitions 2 which are partially extendedupwards and partially below the upper liquid level 3 of the fluid mass,said partitions forming a series of cells 4 wholly or partly coveringthe entire horizontal section of said tank.

Said partitions 2 are in turn joined together by means of a horizontalpartition 5 limiting each one of said cells 4 from above. Said cells areprovided with openings 6 placed so as to coincide with the axes thereof.Said openings may be closed independently or conjointly by means offixed or detachable covers I, which in turn are provided with smallventilation holes or, as an alternative, can be kept slightly separatedfrom partition 5 by means of small supports 8.

In the embodiment shown, the vertical partitions 2 as Well as thehorizontal one 5 are made of suitably separated double walls, so as toform between them chambers 9 and [9, respectively.

The figure shows vertical partitions 2 are open at their lower ends,allowing the liquid torise therein to a level indicated approximately byreference number l4, thus compressing within the upper chamber l5 ofsaid partitions, a mass of air or of any other adequate fluid, thestructure being in this manner made to float.

I claim:

A structure for the storage of inflammable liquids comprising a tankreceiving the liquid, partition means in the tank and including aplurality of lower vertically disposed partitions with free bottom endslying in a, common horizontal plane immersed in the liquid and definingalternately storage cells and parts of a buoyancy chamber, a pluralityof pairs of spaced horizontal partitions, the lower partition of eachpair closing the top of a storage cell, both partitions of eachhorizontal pair having concentric openings, a spacing tube connectingeach horizontal pair of partitions at the margin of the openingstherein, a plurality of upper vertically disposed spaced partitions eachaligned in a common plane with a lower vertical partition and secured atits lower end to an upper horizontal partition and defining alternatelyan access chamber and part of the buoyancy chamber, a plurality ofcovers each aligned with a spacing tube and at spaced points supportedby the top end thereof, and horizontal partition means closing the upperend of the buoyancy chamber.

FELIX DE HOFFMANN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Birge Nov. 23, 1880Number Number 4 Name Date Haney June 26, 1883 Swander Mar. 22, 1887Haigh May 24, 1887 Bloss Jan. 31, 1922 Gallagher Apr. 17, 1928 GlassJune 19, 1928 Griffin Oct, 7, 1930 Myers June 28, 1932 Grifiin Apr. 4,1933 Boardman Oct. 31, 1933 Verner Jan. 7, 1936 Stough Apr, 7, 1936 MikaMay 20, 1941 Wiggins June 23, 1942 Allen Mar. 22, 1949

